Post by Duck on Aug 19, 2019 6:44:26 GMT -6

Netanyahu: 'If necessary, we will begin a war in Gaza'

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday afternoon promised to begin a military operation in Gaza if the situation demanded it. Before boarding a plane to Ukraine, Netanyahu responded to the recent events on the Gaza-Israel border, and the weekend's rocket attacks on Israeli territory.

"I heard people saying that I'm avoiding a widescale operation in Gaza because of the elections," Netanyahu said. "That's not true. Anyone who knows me knows that my considerations are practical and relevant."

Post by Keith on Aug 19, 2019 7:09:53 GMT -6

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Eastern Libyan forces have seriously damaged with air strikes a civilian airport in western Libya lacking any military use, the United Nations said on Sunday.

Last week, the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) force said it had twice bombed the airport of Zuwara, a town west of Tripoli, saying it had targeted hangars used by Turkish drones.

The attacks are part of a campaign currently in its fifth month to try to take Tripoli held by the internationally recognized government. The LNA is commanded by Khalifa Haftar allied to a parallel government in the east.

Post by Keith on Aug 20, 2019 6:54:38 GMT -6

U.S. tests first ground-launched cruise missile after INF treaty exit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Monday it tested a conventionally configured ground-launched cruise missile with a range of more than 500 km (310 miles), the first such test since the United States pulled out of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).

The United States formally withdrew from the landmark 1987 pact with Russia on Aug. 2 after determining that Moscow was violating the treaty, an accusation the Kremlin has denied.

The treaty, negotiated by then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, banned land-based missiles with a range of between 310 and 3,400 miles (500 to 5,500 km).

Post by Keith on Aug 20, 2019 6:55:24 GMT -6

The Pentagon’s cruise missile test will open up new strike possibilities for the US military

The Pentagon has shot off a developing land-fired cruise missile in a successful test of an emerging weapons system able to hit long-range targets from safer distances, potentially complementing Air Force and Army medium-range weapons now under development.

These kinds of weapons, such as the Army’s now-in-development Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) and the Air Force’s air-launched cruise missile called the Long-Range Stand-Off weapon give Commanders a wide range of options, such as hitting enemy air defenses, installations, command and control centers and other high-value targets.

Accordingly, the Pentagon’s emerging land-fired cruise missile could further fortify the new strategic attack mission envelope introduced by these new Army and Air Force weapons, enabling offensive attack in well-defended areas presenting great danger in the event of close-in contact. For instance, there may be instances in which enemy air defenses make it difficult for U.S. planes to operate overhead, or various combat conditions precluding Tomahawks from firing from Navy ships or submarines.

Post by Keith on Aug 20, 2019 6:56:06 GMT -6

Clashes hit Yemen's south, Saudi-led forces strike capital

ADEN (Reuters) - Southern separatists seized two Yemeni government military bases near the southern port of Aden early on Tuesday, triggering fresh clashes between nominal allies that have complicated U.N. peace efforts, residents and officials said.

The separatists and government are both part of a Saudi-led military coalition battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which took over the capital Sanaa and most major cities in 2014.

But the separatists broke with the government this month, seizing its temporary base of Aden on Aug. 10. On Tuesday, they took two government military bases in Zinjibar, around 60 km (40 miles) east of Aden in Abyan province, residents said.

Post by Keith on Aug 21, 2019 7:15:14 GMT -6

U.S. drone shot down over Yemen: officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. military MQ-9 drone was shot down in Yemen’s Dhamar governate, southeast of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday, the second such incident in recent months.

A Houthi military spokesman had earlier said that air defenses had brought down a U.S. drone.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the drone was shot down late on Tuesday.

Post by Keith on Aug 21, 2019 7:15:46 GMT -6

Blasts hit militia group position at Iraq's Balad air base: security sources

TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Several blasts hit a position held by Iraqi Shi’ite paramilitaries next to Balad air base north of Baghdad on Tuesday, an Iraqi military official and a source in a paramilitary group said.

It was one of a series of explosions in recent weeks at weapons depots, bases or positions belonging to factions within the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), Iraq’s umbrella of mostly Shi’ite Muslim paramilitary groups.

Balad base hosts U.S. forces and contractors and is located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad. A PMF group backed by Iran is stationed nearby.

Post by Keith on Aug 21, 2019 7:16:21 GMT -6

Yemen's Houthis down U.S. drone in Dhamar governorate: spokesman

(Reuters) - Yemen’s Houthi movement’s air defenses on Wednesday downed a United States drone MQ-9 in Dhamar governorate, southeast of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, the group’s Al-Masirah TV quoted the group’s military spokesman as saying.

“We are aware of reporting that a US MQ-9 was shot down over Yemen. We do not have any further information to provide at this time,” the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday.

Last June, the U.S. military said Houthi rebels in Yemen shot down a U.S. government-operated drone with assistance from Iran.

Post by Keith on Aug 22, 2019 6:18:57 GMT -6

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran displayed what it described as a domestically built long-range, surface-to-air missile air defense system on Thursday, at a time of rising tension with the United States.

Iran shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone in the Gulf with a surface-to-air missile in June. It says the drone was over its territory, but the United States says it was in international airspace.

State television showed President Hassan Rouhani attending an unveiling ceremony for the mobile Bavar-373 system, which Iranian media have described as a competitor to the Russian S-300 missile system.

Post by Keith on Aug 23, 2019 5:52:28 GMT -6

US Officials Confirm Israel is Striking Iranian Targets in Iraq

JERUSALEM, Israel – Senior US officials told The New York TimesThursday that Israel is behind the recent bombings of Iranian-backed military targets in Iraq, confirming suspicions that Israel was responsible for a widely-reported attack on Iranian forces north of Baghdad on July 19.

The two officials told The Times that Israel is behind "several strikes in recent days on munitions storehouses for Iranian-backed groups in Iraq."

They also confirmed reports that Israel attacked a base used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to transport weapons to Syria on July 19. Arab media reported at the time that Israeli F-35i stealth fighter jets attacked the base shortly after Iran had secretly delivered ballistic missiles. One US official said those missiles had a range of 125 miles.

Post by Keith on Aug 24, 2019 7:46:53 GMT -6

PA President Abbas: ‘Millions Of Fighters’ Will Take Over Jerusalem

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatened this week that "million of fighters" would swarm Jerusalem and topple the Jewish state's capital city, warning that "no matter how many houses and how many settlements they declare that they [plan to build] here and there—they shall all be destroyed."

Abbas, in an Arabic language speech at Jalazone Refugee Camp near Ramallah that was heavy with threats of destruction, doubled down on the Palestinian government's policy of using public money to pay convicted terrorists and their families, telling his audience, "We will not accept their designation of our martyrs as terrorists. Our martyrs are the martyrs of the homeland."

Abbas went on to rally those in attendance to swarm the city of Jerusalem and destroy all Jewish people living there. His remarks are the clearest sign to date that the leader has no interest in playing a role in a revamped peace process spearheaded by President Donald Trump's White House.

Post by Keith on Aug 24, 2019 7:48:31 GMT -6

Yemen's separatists declare ceasefire in clash with government forces in Shabwa

ADEN (Reuters) - Yemen’s southern separatists declared a ceasefire in their clashes with government forces in the oil-producing province of Shabwa after two days of fighting.

“The Southern Transitional Council (STC) calls upon all parties in the Shabwa governorate to exercise restraint and abide by the ceasefire called for by the Arab coalition,” the council said in a statement early Saturday.

The council also called on its forces to remain in their positions and maintain control over the institutions and property they overtook.